August 2002: SOUND-ALIKE / LOOK-ALIKE Drug WARNING
ISMP Canada has received correspondence from several health care professionals expressing concern about the name of a recently approved product Pegetron®. There is potential for confusion with a previously marketed product PEG-Intron®. Pegetron is a combination product of Peginterferon alfa-2b powder for solution and Ribavirin 200mg capsules. PEG-Intron is the trade name for the Peginterferon alfa-2b product as a single entity. Both products are used to treat chronic hepatitis C.Practitioners should take extra precautions in distinguishing between the two products since Pegetron will be on the market soon.
It is interesting to note that the Pegetron product is not marketed in the U.S. and there are no plans to market the product in the U.S. ISMP Canada has contacted Schering Canada for possible remedial efforts to prevent the mix-up of these two products.
ISMP Canada has also notified Health Canada about the concerns of these two sound-alike/look-alike names.
